Full body contrast therapy bath



July 14, 1970* E. T. QATMAN ET AL.

FULL BODY CONTRAST THERAPY BATH 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 21, 1967 wDODZTPZOo INVENTORS EDWARD T. OATMAN HELEN M. OATMAN July 14, 1970 QATMAN ETAL 3,520,296

FULL BODY CONTRAST THERAPY BATH 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 21 1967 E R w MNN R D 0A A w E TM M mm a mum RU W0 0 m 1M & AP W D S N A L WE D H E HEATER FILTERS 50 Fig. 2

Fig. 3

N O A T R United States Patent 3,520,296 FULL BODY CONTRAST THERAPY BATH Edward T. Oatman and Helen M. Oatman, both of 642 Lipizzan Way, El Cajon, Calif. 92020 Filed July 21, 1967, Ser.-No. 655,031 Int. Cl. A61h 9/ 00 US. Cl. 128-66 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A full body immersion hydro-therapy tank is provided with a thermal contrast spray capability incorporated with means for continuous circulation, filtration and temperature control of the water, all contamination being rapidly removed and the water maintained at a constant level, the full body spraying means spraying the patient with water at a temperature contrasting with that of the recirculated water and all spray being contained within the tank, and the spray being directed to stimulate the blood circulation through the body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The apparatus described herein is the combination of contrast spray means in a hydro-therapy bath, particularly one which provides continuous circulation, filtration and temperature control of water in a large hydro-therapy bath, surface contamination being rapidly removed and water level maintained. When temperature contrast is required the spraying means incorporated in the bath directs a controlled spray over the required area, usually the greater part of the space occupied by the patient, within the bath. The spray is directed onto the patient in such a manner as to stimulate the circulatory blood tree fiow in the body. Gentle rain type spray or needle spray can be used and the excess water and temperature differential are automatically compensated for by the basic circulation system. Thus the entire treatment can be carried out in a single bath by a minimum number of operators, and successive patients can be treated without draining the bath.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a typical full body immersion tank incorporating a recirculation system and contrast spray;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of the plumbing system, the tank being shown in section;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on line 3--3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view, similar to FIG. 3, showing a dual selective spray arrangement.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The tank 10, illustrated in FIG. 1, is a typical full body immersion tank commercially available and is 3,520,296 Patented July 14, 1970 "ice usually fitted with various types of agitators patient handling means and other accessories, which are omitted for clarity. In FIG. 2 the tank is shown in section to clarify the arrangement of a preferred circulatory flow system and to indicate a means for supporting a patient. Adjacent the head end of tank 10 is an upright post 12 in which is a tetescopically adjustable bar 14 extending into the tank and carrying a hanger 16. A patient is supported on a pallet 18, one end of which rests on the hanger 16, the pallet being suspended from a sling 20 on an overhead hoist, not shown. The arragement of the hoist and controls for maneuvering the pallet are well known and various types are in use with hydro-therapy equipment.

The basic tank is modified by addition of a lower inlet 22 at the head end of the tank 10 near the bottom, and an upper inlet 24 above the lower inlet substantially at the normal water line 26. Inlets 22 and 24 extend horizontally and have multiple holes, as shown, or slots to distribute the incoming water over a wide area. At the opposite end of tank 10 is a bottom outlet 28 and an upper skimming outlet 30 at the water line 26, both outlets also extending horizontally to collect water from a wide area. From skimming outlet 30 a drain pipe 34 leads to any suitable drain to dispose of overflow and so maintain a constant level in the tank. A return pipe 36 leads from bottom outlet 28 to a recirculation system 38, in which the water is filtered, heated and supplied to inlets 22 and 24 through a feed pipe 40.

In the recirculation system, shown in more detail in FIG. 2, the return pipe 36 leads through a two-way valve 42 to a pair of filters 44 and 46, the filters being coupled through a further two-way valve 48 to the inlet side of a pump 50. Flow can be directed through either of filters 44 or 46, which collect the majority of the contaminants from the tank, so that either filter can be cleaned while the system is in operation. From the outlet side of pump 50 the water is passed through a final filter 52 and into a heater 54, from which heated water is supplied to feed pipe 40. A proportional control valve 55 is used to adjust the ratio of flow to the inlets 22 and 24, depending on whether or not the surface skimming is required. The filters are commercially available types and the heater is a conventional themostatically controlled unit, the system being generally similar to that used on some swimming pools and being of high capacity to maintain a rapid circulation of water. To replace the loss of water to the drain, water from a utility supply source is supplied to heater 54 through a supply line 56 fitted with a flow control valve 58. Thus far the tank and recirculation system are similar to the arrangement shown and described in our copending application Ser. No. 612,414, filed Jan. 30, 1967 and entitled Sterile Hydro-Therapy Bath.

To maintain sterility a chlorine feeder 60 is connected into fed pipe 40, to add chlorine to the water at a controlled rate. Chlorine feeders of suitable type are readily available, an example being the Culligan dry feeder. For rapid cleaning of final filter 52 a drain outlet 62 with a shut-off valve 64 is provided from the filter to permit back washing from the utility water supply. As shown, a shut-off valve 66 is inserted in feed pipe 40 so that back washing can take place through the heater, to avoid extra connections to the water supply. The system is well known in swimming pool equipment.

Contrast spraying is obtained from spray manifolds 68 adn 70 extending along the inside walls of the tank 10 on opposite sides, at or slightly above the water line 26. Each manifold has longitudinally spaced nozzles 72 aligned to direct the spray onto a patient supported on pallet 18 just clear of the water. The nozzles are set to distribute the water ovre substantially the entire body of the patient, outlined in broken line in FIG. 1, from the chin down to the feet and are thus at various angles with respect to the manifolds. Also, the nozzles are set to keep the spray within the confines of the tank at full flow rate, so that splashing on the surrounding floor is avoided. Each manifold may be a simple length of pipe, as in FIG. 3, attached to the tank in any suitable manner. Alternatively, the manifold and nozzles could be incorporated into the tank structure.

Both manifolds 68 and 70 are connected by a feed pipe 74 to a T-connection 76 in the water supply line 56, so that utility supply water is fed directly to the nozzles. A flow control valve 78 in the feed pipe 74 controls the rate of flow and could be timer operated for specific treatment cycles if desired. In contrast treatment it is common to use cold water for the spray, the utility supply being ade quate for most purposes. However, the spray supply could obviously be cooled further if needed.

For some treatments a soft rain-like spray is used, while for others needle jets are necessary. The manifolds can be fited with the appropriate nozzles and could be made interchangeable, either by changing nozzles or by substituting complete manifolds. A convenient arrangement where both types of sprays are required is shown in FIG. 4. In addition to the manifold 68 having rain type nozzles 72, a second manifold -80 is mounted parallel to the first and has needle jet nozzles 82. The adjacent manifolds are then connected through a two-way selector valve 84 to feed pipe 74, so that either type of spray is instantly available.

The use of manifolds with multiple nozzles individually directed according to a specific pattern makes it practical to provide the particular spray directivity illustrated in FIG. 1. It is medically recognized that the circulatory blood tree flow in the body extends from proximal the right foot, up the right side to the chest (caudad to cephalad), across the chest and down the left side (cephalad to caudad). Patients have been treated by manually directed jets of water, from hoses, moved around the body in the above described pattern to stimulate the flow of blood. In the system shown manifold 68 is extended at the foot end to facilitate direction of the spray up the right side of the patient, the nozzles gradually changing their direction to spray across the chest below the chin. Manifold 70 is extended at the head end and the nozzles are directed to spray water down the left side. Thus full body coverage is obtained with the added advantage of a controlled spray pattern of recognized therapeutic value in blood circulatory stimulation.

As described in the above mentioned copending application, the continuous circulation at a high rate, with two stage filtration and chlorine additive, makes the bath very sterile. The flow from upper inlet 24 effectively sweeps surface debris out through skimming outlet 30 with the overflow, the water level being maintained by the utility supply. The sterilization has been found to be so effective that successive patients can be treated in the same bath without fear of infection. The immediate removal of contamination and the clean appearance of the water is also psychologically beneficial to the patient.

When the contrast spray is used the excess water escapes as overflow. An resulting cooling of the bath by the spray is compensated for by the heater, but the cooling will normally be negligible, since the spray fioW is small compared to the volume of heated Water in the tank.

It is understood that minor variation from the form of the invention disclosed herein may be made Without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and that the specification and drawings are to be considered as merely illustrative rather than limiting.

We claim: i

1. A hydro-therapy tank having a replacement source of water connected thereto;

contrast spray means within said tank, including spray outlets longitudinally spaced along opposite sides only of the tank intermediate the height of the walls of the tank and well below the top of the tank and just above the water level therein in the normal use of the tank for therapy, and directed to spray water over a selected area within the tank;

a source of spray water, of contrasting temperature to the water in the tank, connected to said spray means; and valve means controlling the flow of water to said spray means.

2. The structure of claim 1, wherein said tank has an outlet, decontamination and filter means operatively connected between said outlet and said spray outlets, and said source of spray water is said replacement source of water, thus providing re-circulation.

3. The structure of claim 1, wherein said spray means includes water conducting manifolds extending along said tank, said manifolds each having a plurality of spray directing nozzles thereon and said nozzles include a rain spray type and a needle jet type, and selector means for spraying water through'either of said types of nozzles.

4. The structure of calim 1, wherein said spray means is positioned to define said selected area as the length of a patient, excepting his head, and including means for supporting a patient horizontally in said tank with substantially the entire body of the patient below the chin within said selected area.

5. The structure of claim 1 wherein portions of said spray means are directed to spray water in one general direction along one side of said tank and in opposite general direction along the other side of the tank, both said directions corresponding generally to the directions of circulatory blood tree flow of a patient supported in the tank, namely, up the right side, across the chest and down the left side of the patient.

*6. The structure of claim 1, wherein the manifold on one side of the tank is extended farther toward the foot end in relation to a patient to be supported in the tank, and the manifold on the other side of the tank is extended farther toward the head end thereof; said nozzles bein disposed to direct spray generally from caudad to cephalad along one side of the patient, across the chest area, and generally from cephalad to caudad along the other side of the patient.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Koolnis 12866 L. W. TRAPP, Primary Examiner 

